Red Bulls-Rapids Preview

Happy 4th of July everybody! It's been a busy weekend and this is really the first time I've had some time to sit down and bring you one of my uber famous blogs. The Red Bulls wish our great land it's 234th birthday with a game against the Colorado Rapids, that at the moment is tied for 3rd in the Western Conference with a 6-3-3 record. Fortunately for this game, I actually have a friend who is a great fan of the Rapids thus I have a little insider info.

The 4th of July game is a tradition in Colorado and the Rapids usually do very well in it. Of course, the Red Bulls are by no means a weak team and Colorado needs to be on top of its game. This could be an issue as the Rapids have recently blown leads to earn mere ties in their unbeaten streak. Nevertheless, they don't have many holes the Bulls can exploit. At the moment they are running a 4-5-1 with Conor Casey, the World Cup reject up top, flanked by Omar Cummings and Jamie Smith. Smith and Cummings are the core of a very strong midfield that fuels a solid attack and very fine defense. The Rapids may have only scored 15 goals this season, but they've also only allowed 11, tied for second least in MLS. The Defense at the moment is a bit banged up and that may provide the Red Bulls with an opportunity to put a few balls in the net. The net is minded by Matt Pickens who replaced none other than Bouna Coundoul in 2009. That means they should by fine as almost anyone is better than Bouna time. The weakest player on the team is Mehdi Ballouchi who receives the Robbie Findley award for running around providing absolutely nothing of worth.

The Bulls come into this game on a hot streak that started before the break and didn't wear off. The striker tandem of Juan Pablo Angel and Salou Ibrahim had their finest game together last week against the Wizards producing 3 goals. Hans Backe may have also finally found the right combination at midfield with Tchani, Ubiparipovic, Stammler, and Lindpere. Lindpere has always been the strongest player in the midfield. Ubiparipovic has had a heck of a season so far providing chances and good ball skills. Seth Stammler has been my early season whipping boy but he's really come on in the Red Bulls hot streak, particularly striking from outside the box. Finally, Tony Tchani is still a little raw, but he's shown more than enough skills to warrant being on the field. The defense is still a little shaky though. No one is particularly terrible, but their just seem to be communication issues among the back line that allow for sudden breakouts that test Coundoul, someone who should be tested rarely. I would not be surprised if in the latter half of this season Greg Sutton sees some playing time. Coundoul is prone to spectacular saves, I credit him with that. However, he is also prone to gaffes worthy of Robert Green, the English keeper who let in Clint Dempsey's trickler. Bouna's exciting, just not the good kind of exciting.

Add it all up, what is the outcome of the game? I believe all streaks are meant to be broken, whether it be the Rapids unbeaten streak or the Red Bulls winning streak. The Rapids however also have their 11-2-1 record on the fourth that needs some wrinkles in it. I think the Rapids have the better team on paper, but the Red Bulls just play so darn well under Hans Backe (it will get only better with Henry). Thus I'm going with our boys from Harrison, final score: 2-1

* Hey and we have a Robbie Findley sighting! He scored the garbage time fifth goal for Real Salt Lake against New England Friday night where he showed off some nifty moves. Moves he felt he shouldn't use in South Africa. Instead he felt just running the ball out of bounds was a good strategy in the Cup.

* I'm still bummed about the World Cup, but this article is a bit sobering, check it out: